"Gabe I love you so much but you're driving me insane. Please find a hobby, something, anything that isn't me." Natalia pleaded, threading her fingers through the silky strand of his hair as he breathed evenly in and out.

He was wrapped around her like a twine on a tree. His head was on the crook of her neck and he used all his limbs to anchor her to him. Natalia was so hot, Gabe was a big muscular furnace that she couldn't escape because she was on strict bed rest orders.

Gabe grunted in the negative, meaning that he wouldn't move from his position.

"Ty mentioned that he's got some new equipment," she tried again. "Why don't you take them to the gun range?"

That got his attention, he titled his head back to make eye contact with her. If she wasn't so exasperated she'd laugh. He looked exactly like Max, their puppy when anyone mentioned walkies. "You're suggesting I go out and play with guns?" he asked incredulously because Natalia had made it very clear that she hated them, didn't want to see them in her home and did not at all approve of Gabe's involvement with them.

"Yes, it's either that or I shoot you myself if you don't give me some breathing space."

"One hour," he bargained.

"At least five," Natalia shot back.

"Three, no more."

"That's a start, I guess. Deal. Ty's waiting for you outside."

Gabe huffed, getting up from bed and realising she had gotten the better of him. He looked adorable with his hand-mussed hair, and sleep lines on his cheek. But it was two in the afternoon and Natalia was on her fourth day of bedrest at home. She had spent every waking moment of those four days with Gabe and she needed a break and so did he after keeping a constant vigil by her bedside at the hospital, even if he didn't realise it himself.

Natalia had been released from hospital after the doctor had given her the all clear. She was connected to a portable monitor that reported back all her vitals to her doctor, and a nurse would come every two days for a more thorough observation.

With all things considered she was extremely lucky to even have the opportunity to serve out the rest of her pregnancy at home. It could have been so much worse.

Lima appeared at the bedroom door, Gabe grunted a garbled greeting at her, he was still in his feelings about Lima's presence.

"Hi Gabe, lovely to see you too," Lima chirped back at him. Natalia could see the frown on his face faltering, at the heart of it he was a gentleman and it hurt him to be rude to a woman.

"She was in on this too I suppose?" He asked a grinning Natalia.

"Of course, she's my ride or die," Natalia answered, wiggling to the side so Lima could slide into bed with her.

"God, I want the record to show that I'm only getting into this bed because I know you two aren't allowed to have sex."

Gabe scowled a final time before he bounded out of sight in long angry strides. Natalia hated to see him leave but she loved to watch him go, the way his clothes clung to his fit, muscular body was positively obscene. The T-shirt he wore stretched over the delicious muscles of his wide back, the basketball shorts he wore, although baggy could not hide his sculpted thick thighs and glutes from her hungry gaze.

Gosh, she missed scoring his back with her nails
as he moved inside her. She missed clutching at his ass, as he ground against her and made her disintegrate with pleasure. Not being able to have sex was torture and that was one of the reasons why she had to get him out of there.

"Hello, earth to Natalia..." Lima called. The two were laying side by side, sharing a pillow. She must have been babbling for ages before she had noticed that Natalia wasn't responding, how long had she been thinking about Gabe's ass? She couldn't be sure.

"Sorry," Natalia said, feeling her cheeks heat up. "Sorry, baby brain," she said feebly hoping Lima bought her excuse.

"Girl, stop lying to me. I know you were imagining that man railing you six ways into labour."

"Lima!"

"I am just saying, I understand..."

"What do you understand?" Natalia said, sitting up and noticing Lima's wistful tone. "Bitch, fess up!"

"Nah, don't get excited now. I won't be having a whole Marine in my face because you kekeked and gasped too much and went into labour."

"But tell me," Natalia whined petulantly, in a way that was very uncharacteristic of her, taking both of them by surprise. Lima stared at her in wonderment, a slow smile overtaking her face.

"What?" Natalia asked haughtily, the creeping heat of self consciousness coming up her neck and her face.

"Nothing, it's just that..."  Lima turned from her back to her side, regarding her with what seemed like new eyes. She tucked a brown coily strand behind Natalia's ear, "I've never seen you like this before."

"Like what?"

"I dunno, like...Like this."

"You mean bursting with a baby and on bed-rest?" Natalia wrinkled her nose and shifted back on her mountains of pillows in frustration.

"No, I mean so demanding and kind of spoiled."

"Spoiled?!" Natalia shrieked, offended.

"Shush, don't scream like that. Your man hasn't left yet!" Natalia admonished. "You know what I mean. A Princess."

"I'll have you know, I've always been a Princess."

"I know," Lima said and kissed her cheek tenderly.

"It's him," Natalia said after a long while. "He treats me like a Princess. He takes care of me better than I know how to take care of myself. He's my family. I can't wait for it to be official."

"Why wait?" Lima murmured.

"Huh?"

"Let's move your wedding forward. It makes perfect sense. What are you going to do for two long months? Just sit here and get bedsores?"

"No, I couldn't..." Her voice was sotto voce, as if she was almost afraid of the suggestion. After a period of contemplation she shook her head, shooting the idea down but sat up, clearly intrigued by it.

"You totally could!"

"Could I?"

"Of course you could!" Lima encouraged. "Of course I will do the heavy lifting, you should just lie back and choose a few colours once in a while."

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course I would, I am not leaving until your baby is in your arms and you're hitched."

That got her blubbering and using Lima's T-shirt as a hankie.

Gabe, who she assumed was gone, came up in a flash. It's like he had a radar that could sense when Natalia's excitement levels might be above normal.

"Why is she crying?" he practically bellowed at Lima.

"They are happy tears!" Natalia insisted through a snot bubble and Lima had to laugh into her hand to avoid attracting more of Gabe's spitting anger.

She was already living precariously. She had to stay with Ty — Since Gabe had turned their guest bedroom into a nursery, and even if he hadn't she doubted that she was very welcome. and Natalia had decided not to fight that particular battle. Ty had a spare bedroom anyways and wouldn't hear about Lima staying in a hotel. It made for an interesting atmosphere.

"You're coming with us," Gabe said through narrowed eyes. "I don't trust you."

"And leave her alone? No way!"  Lima protested.

"Hello, I'm an adult perfectly capable of being on my own," Natalia tried to interject but she knew they wouldn't take her seriously, her face was blotchy from crying and she looked like a 3 year old after a temper tantrum.

"Someone will come to sit with you while we're gone."

"Can it be Porsha?"

"No, she's too exciting."

"Ella?"

Gabe didn't even bother responding to that. "My mom's friend from church..."

"No, I don't want to watch her knit and listen to her talk about different flowering species in the South."

"Why not, you're a biologist?" Gabe smirked.

"I hate you."

"And I love you just as much." Gabe said without missing a beat, and Natalia practically melted into the bed, a smile hovering on her lips. Her previous objections quietened. She was such an easy prey when it came to words of affirmation since her first love language was off the table.

"Excuse me while I go gag," Lima said under her breath watching their sickening exchange.

"That's not what you — " Ty's huge figure was suddenly filling the doorway.

Lima's face went up in flames, her figure taking on the rigid stance of mortification. Natalia watched raptly, she had to admit, the last twenty minutes had been more interesting than any of the series she had been binge watching on Netflix. 

"What are you doing here, Ty?" Lima all but sputtered.

"I've been waiting in the car for half a century, what's taking so long?"

"Can you just backtrack to the innuendo you almost said?" Natalia piped up at Ty from the bed like an audience member in a Christmas pantomime.

"No he will not," Gabe intervened. "This is too much stimulation for her, both of you get out and wait for me in the truck."

Gabe had his scary Marine Captain face on so neither Lima and Ty said anything as they left the room. Natalia sighed. There went her entertainment.

"Can you bring me back a snack at least? I need dopamine from somewhere."

"Sure, babe," Gabe said pleasantly, too agreeably and that made her suspicious.

"None of that healthy trash."

"We'll see."

"I swear I'll watch Selling Sunset without you."

"You wouldn't."

"I would, try me," Natalia challenged.

Gabe was suddenly hovering over her and Natalia got nervous, she swallowed compulsively. "Now, this is too much stimulation," she found herself issuing the warning.

"It is," He agreed but made no effort to move away from her personal space.

"How are we going to get through this? I don't think my body can hold out any longer," Natalia voiced her fears.

"We're going to get through this one day, and then one week at a time, you'll see. Whatever happens we're in this together. I promise."

"Okay," Natalia murmured, her concerns laid to rest for the time being.

"Can I kiss you before I leave or is that too much stimulation?" His Apple green eyes found Natalia's and held hers long enough to cause a concerning flutter in her belly.

"Kissing you is always too much stimulation," Natalia quipped, "But it's a risk worth taking."

"I'm glad you think so," his raspy baritone rolled through her as their lips pressed together in a sweet reunion.

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If I did titles for my chapters this would be called, "Stimulation," LOL. How many times did I use it in this chapter? Leave me some love. Also I'm posting an excerpt from Lima's story on my wall. I've been working on it :)